- Steganography is a science of hiding data in a communication in such a way that only the sender and the receiver know of its existence. In this paper, we propose a steganographic communication algorithm based on self-organizing patterns. The dot-skeleton representation of the secret image is embedded into the initial random perturbation around the unstable stationary state. The pattern of stripes is allowed to evolve for a pre-determined number of forward time steps and is transmitted to the receiver. The receiver has to generate the identical initial perturbation (without the dot-skeleton representation of the secret image). The difference between the pattern produced by the receiver and the pattern received via the communication channel reveals the secret image.
Complex nonlinear pattern formation processes govern the formation of stripes interconnecting dot-skeleton points in the difference image. The proposed communication system is fully functional when grayscale levels of the dot-skeleton representation of the secret are well below the noise level of the initial random perturbation. The ability of the proposed scheme to hide information and to avoid suspicion outperforms traditional steganographic techniques if the security of communication is considered as a primary objective.
